Machine for winding and folding cloth



THOMAS P. FORSYTH, OF DALTON, INDIANA.

MACHINE FORVWINDING AND FOLDING CLOTH.

Speccation of Letters Patent No. 10,782, dated April 18, 1854.

To aZZ whom t may concern: p

Be it known that I, THOMAS P. FoRsrTH, lof Dalton,\in the county ofWayne and State lof Indiana, have invented a new and ImprovedI Machinefor Rolling, Folding, and Stretching Dry Goods, Cloth, Paper, &c.;

' and` I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exactdescription of the construction and operation thereof, reference beinghad to the annexed drawings, forming part ofths specification, wherein-Figure l' is aperspective view of my machine.` Fig. 2V is a perspectiveview of my machine, some parts being removed to eX- hibit more clearlyits construction. Fig. 3` is a representation of the lever n, plate rand,

`cross tie p, to exhibit their construction andi the connection of theparts. Fig. 4 is a rep-l resentation ofthe upper part of my machineshowing the arrangement of the parts when it isto be used for folding.Fig. 5, shows the bits c, o, used for winding ribbons and similararticles, and Fig. 6, Vis a representation of one of the slides cseparated from `other parts of the machine, the same letters ofreference being employed in the several` `figures for the correspondingparts of my machine.

` The object of my machine is to enable cloth, dry goods and otherarticles of what- `soever width, which are usually put up in rolls, orwound on boards, to be thus rolled or wound, not only expeditiously butevenly, soas that the sides of the fabric or article to be rolled may beuniform and even.

VMy machineis also designed to remove any Vcreases in the articlerolled, by stretch` ing it out before it is rolled or wrapped aroundthe` board or other receptacle.

` 'My machine` consists of a frame work of 'two side pieces a, a',connected at the bot tom, atboth ends by cross pieces e, c, which, likethe other parts of my machine, may, unless otherwise specified, be madeof wood, iron or other suitable material. Supported by these side piecesc, a, is a ilat table, b, presenting a level and uniformly iiat surface,over `which the cloth or other article is to pass on its way to the rod,roller, or board on which it `is to be stretched or wound. At eitherendfof this table is a roller g, g `the topI` ofiwhich risesa shadehigher than theY level of the table Z2. They arede'signed to facilitatethe passage of the goodsover the table, Under this table b,

hole is made near the front end' of each of the slides c c,communicating with slits extending to the front end of the slides to al-Vlow the shaft s, to be passed to its place between the gudgeons cZ, 0l.The slides 0, of, are suported partly by resting at either end on thecrosspieces c, e, but chiefly by the strong crosstie p, which passesthrough them, extending from one side ofthe machine to the other, midwayfrom either end.

The hole 7L, in the side pieces see Fig. 6 f

through which the crosst-ie p, passes, is so large that they can slideupon it from side to side of the machine, always in planes parallel tothe side pieces c, a. Thedesign of these slides c, c', is to form aguidefor the cloth, &c., to be wound, in order to .keep the edgesuniformly even, and as either or both of them can be moved sidewisetoward or from each other from one side of the machine to the other theymay be adjusted to` end to the slides c, 0, by pins la, fc, at the endof the guides which descend through slots or grooves in the table Z),near to each end and pass into holes m in the slides c, ff. These guidesj, y', are adjusted with the slides c, c', to the width of the fabricvtobe rolled, &c., and the ends of the guides j, j, entering into the slotsor grooves :at either end of the table, serve to keep thearticle to bewound straight as it is'passing over the table Z), to the winding shafts, or roller.

The stretcher which is designed to prevent any folds or creasesremaining in the `cloth &c., consists of two strips Z, Z, which areplaced between the guides y', j, so as to form an angle more or lessacute, according as the guides j, j and slides c, c are nearer togetheror farther apart. These strips Z, Z

are connected at their angle by a hinge of leather or metal, and theother end of each one is attached to one of the guides j, y', by a hingeor pivot of any suitable kind on which it turns. The edges of the stripsZ, Z, forming the stretcher, rest on the surface of the table Z), thecloth &c. passing over the table and under the stretcher, the angle ofthe stretcher pointing from they front of the ma-4 .which at o, isattached to the side a, of the machine. The other end extending outside:of the machine through an opening in the side piecect. Theperpendicular arm g, eX- tends from the lever n to the plate r, whichplate extends across the machine, being let linto grooves in the sidepieces a, a, and

sufficiently below the table Z), so as not to Vinterfere withit. In thecenter of the plate f7', the crosstie p, and the lever 11 is a long.narrow slit or groove, these slits being parallel, and in the sameperpendicular plane, and extending across the machine to within a'shortdistance of each side. Through these slits the upright arm g, passes,connecting y.the lever n, with the plate 1", there being a knob orbutton on the top of the arm g,

resting on the surface of the plate r, and a washer and pin at the lowerextremity of the arm g, under the lever n, the object of the slits inthe lever', plate and crosstie, be-

' ying to allow of the arm g, being shifted backward to and from thefulcrum of the lever, so as not to interfere with the passage back andforth of the sliding boards c, c. The edges of this plate r, are beveledand fit into a beveled notch in the upper edge .of each slide c and o',so that when the lever n, is forced down and secured by inserting thewedge t, between the lever and the upper edge of the hole, the plate 1,is pressed into the beveled grooves in the slides c, c, into which itfits tightly, and the slides c, c', vare pressed against the crosspieces e, e, so

that they become firm and steady. They may easily be relieved bywithdrawing the wedge t, and lifting up the long arm of the lever n.Outside of one of the side pieces a, of the machine, near to the frontis a circular opening, corresponding and in a horizontal line with thecircular holes in the sliding pieces o, c, before mentioned. These fcircular holes in the slides are for the shaft s,

or the bits u, u to pass through which hold the boards, roller, &c., onwhich the articles are to be wound or rolled. A bracket z',

placed over the circular hole in the side piece a, is attached to theside piece a, and forms the journal of the axis which carries thegudgeon d, and the crank f. A similar bracket z" is attached to theother side of y the sliding piece c', over the circular hole '-'tal linewith the bracket Z.

before mentioned, and in the same horizon- This bracket carres t-hegudgeon d. As the bracket z" is inside the machine and projects from theslide c toward the side piecesaf it` would prevent the slide c frombeing pushed close up to the side of the machine7 if there were not ahole w made in the side pieces a to allow it to pass through at suchtimes, see Fig. l.

Having thus detailed the several parts of my machine I will now proceedto explain its operation. The fabric to be rolled is carried over thetable Z), under the stretcher Z, the guides y', j, and slides c, c',being so'adjusted as that the distance between them corresponds with'the Width of the article to ,be renee. n* the shaft s, is to be used asin Fig. 2, it is inserted into the squared holes 'in the gud` geons CZ,CZ. This is done by drawing the slide c toward the side a, of themachine,

inserting the shaft through the slits in the l ends of the slide e, e,the slide 0f is then drawn toward the slide c, until the shaft istightly held by the gudgeon. The other slide c, is then placed at adistance from c', equal to the width of the fabric to be rolled. Shouldthe fabric be narrow, andthe slide c have to be slid past the center ofthe machine, the upright arm g, will have to be also slid', which isreadily done as it does not fit tightly in the grooves between whichitpasses. The lever n, is then pressed down and fastened by the wedge t,which causes the slides c, c to be gripped tightly between the plate r,and the'J cross pieces e, e, and thus held steadily in its place.

over the roller g as the back end of the table b, then under thestretcher s and over the roller g at the front end of the table b andthence between the ends of the slides c, c to the winding shaft s,around which it is wrapped; the crank f, is then turned until the fabricis wound around the shaft. As the fabric passes over the table Z), thecreases are removed or prevented by the stretcher Z, and the tightnesswith which 'the article is wound depends on the resistance offered bythe stretcher e, e to its passage under it, caused by the weight orpressure of the stretcher, which may be increased if desirable by layinga weight or some heavy article on a board laid horizontally across theguides j, j. Should it be desired to wind the article on a board, as isfrequently done with silks, bombazines and other fabrics, the shaft s,is taken out by withdrawing the slide c', and instead of the shaft isplaced a The fabricv to be rolled on the shaft is then passed suitableboard, in either end of which is driven a bit u, with a squared end,tovt into the gudgeons d, ZZ', as shownin Fig. l.

In order to adjust the machine for winding articles. on a board -or onrollers or reels, which will be of different Widths, theslide c,

is drawn close to the side a, of the machine,

the squared end of one ofthe bits used tok hold the board &c., isinserted in the gudgeen eZ, and the slide c is s1id up toward the slidec until the other bit enters the gudgeon UZ. The slides are then securedas before described by means of the lever n.

If it is designed `to Wind ribbons by my machine the bits 1;, o, Fig. 5are substituted in place of the shaft s, and theslides are adjusted asjust described in case of using a Winding board. These bits 0, o, havecircular end pieces to serve as additional guides to keep the edges ofthe ribbon, even in Winding, (see Fig. 5.) The reel on which the ribbonis to be Wound, is fastened to the bits by projecting points in thecenter of the bits o, /v Which are driven or forced into the side of thereel.

If it is desired to use my machine for folding dry goods, it may be doneas follows: The guides y', j, being placed at the right distance apartfor the Width of the article to be folded, by adjusting the slides c, cWhich support them, the stretcher Z, Z,

` is removed by drawing out the pins or laid between the guides, and athin straight stick a', is laid over it at the end of the guides on thetable, (see Fig. l the cloth is then doubled over this stick and anotherfold carried by hand back over the table; a similar stick is then-laidat the other end of the guides over the cloth &c, and a fold is carriedagain to the other end of the table, the first stick is then Withdrawnand laid over the new fold, at the same end of the guides, and thisprocess is repeated until the Whole is folded; by this means the foldsare all of exactly the same length. i

Having thus described my machine, what I claim as my invention anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is- The use of the stretchers Z, Z,in combination with the adjustable guides j, j, andslides c, o and theWinding shaft s, (or the bits u, u, or '0, fv as the case may be)substantially in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore described.

THOS. P. FORSYTH.

Witnesses:

D. B. ROBBINS, R. THORNBURGH.

